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Big Sean: I didn't clear removal of Colin Kaepernick's name from lyric in 'Madden'

In the new "Madden NFL 19" video game, former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's name was removed from the song "Big Bank." EA Sports acknowledged making a mistake, and will update the game to include the lyric.

Big Sean: I didn't clear removal of Colin Kaepernick's name from lyric in 'Madden'

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San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Eli Harold (58), quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) and free safety Eric Reid (35) kneel in protest during the playing of the national anthem before a NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium.(Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)

It’s common for the video game franchise to edit out profanities from songs that appear in the game, but Big Sean said he didn’t sanction the removal of Kaepernick’s name.

“It’s disappointing and appalling @NFL & @EA took @Kaepernick7’s name out of my verse on Big Bank for Madden 19, like it was a curse word,” Big Sean wrote Thursday in a message posted to his verified Twitter account. “When he's not a curse, he's a gift! Nobody from my team approved any of this.”

It’s disappointing and appalling @NFL & @EA took @Kaepernick7’s name out of my verse on Big Bank for Madden 19, like it was a curse word. When he's not a curse, he's a gift! Nobody from my team approved any of this.

In last year’s version of the game, released in August 2017, the song Bars of Soap by Mike WiLL Made-It appeared in the soundtrack. One original verse contained the lyrics: “She be hopin' that I take a knee like Kaepernick, yes,” but PFT reported that the words “like Kaepernick” were also removed.

EA Sports responded, saying it would update the game.

“We made an unfortunate mistake with our Madden NFL soundtrack,” EA Sports said Thursday night in a statement. “Members of our team misunderstood the fact that while we don’t have rights to include Colin Kaepernick in the game, this doesn’t affect soundtracks. We messed up, and the edit should never have happened. We will make it right, with an update to Madden NFL 19 on August 6 that will include the reference again. We meant no disrespect, and we apologize to Colin, to YG and Big Sean, to the NFL, to all of their fans and our players for this mistake.”

Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who remains unsigned after last playing in the NFL in 2016, is pursuing an ongoing collusion case against the NFL and its ownership, claiming that there has been a concerted effort to keep him unemployed due to his social activism.

Kaepernick famously kneeled during the pregame playing of the national anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality against minorities. Several other players throughout the league followed his lead in the last two seasons by demonstrating during the anthem.

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